The use of stationary and mobile robotic platforms for tasks that are inherently dangerous in nature has become increasingly common as robot technology has grown progressively more sophisticated. Tasks that are inherently dangerous in nature are usually within the province of the police and/or the military where there is generally a significant risk of injury and/or death to human operators. Such tasks include, for example, the controlled detonation of EODs (Explosive Ordinance Devices) and IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices), the controlled detonation of charges to breach a structure, the identification, retrieval, and storage of HAZMAT, and reconnaissance or surveillance in a hazardous environment.
The use of mobile robotic platforms to accomplish some of the tasks that occur within the province of the military and/or police are not without a degree of risk of damage or destruction to the mobile robotic platforms. For example, the use of a mobile robotic platform for the controlled detonation of EODs and IEDs or involves the placement of a small detonation device (e.g., a blasting cap) in close proximity to the EOD or IED by maneuvering of the mobile robotic platform to such position and then detonating the small detonation device (which causes the EOD or IED to explode) after the mobile robotic platform has been maneuvered sufficiently far from the EOD or IED (to prevent or limit blast damage to the mobile robotic platform). Similarly, the use of a mobile robotic platform to breach a structure involves maneuvering of the mobile robotic platform in close proximity to the structure to attach a shaped charge (e.g., C4) that includes a small detonation device to the structure, and then maneuvering the mobile robotic platform sufficiently far from the structure before detonating the shaped charge (as non-limiting examples of mobile robotic platforms, refer to the “unmanned ground vehicles” set forth in U.S. pre-grant patent application publication 2007/0156286 published Jul. 5, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety).
There is a basic degree of risk of damage or destruction inherent in the operation of mobile robotic platforms in such hostile environments due to the operation of hostile forces (e.g., gunfire or small detonating devices such as grenades directed at the mobile robotic platform) as well as risks arising from the premature detonation of the detonation device or a shaped charge while being transported by the mobile robotic platform and/or the premature detonation of the EOD or IED. There is also a degree of risk imposed by the time required to first maneuver the mobile robotic into close proximity to the object and subsequently maneuver the mobile robotic platform sufficiently far from the object, i.e., the exposure time of the mobile robotic platform in the hostile environment. In addition, this extended maneuvering time increases the time required to accomplish the task, which represents a deficiency.
Accordingly, a need exists for technology that can accomplish tasks such as the foregoing while concomitantly reducing the risks associated therewith. One such approach may involve the use of a relatively dense projectile that can launched from the mobile robotic platform to impact with the EOD or IED or the structure to be breached, in which the kinetic energy (impact shock) of the dense projectile is sufficient to detonate the EOD or IED or to breach the structure. This may eliminate the extended maneuvering required of the mobile robotic platform described above, and may at the same time reduce the risks and deficiencies associated with such extended maneuvering.
In order to advance such an approach, it may be possible to design, develop, and manufacture a specialized mobile robotic platform having a built-in projectile launcher. However, this approach is not deemed optimal because the time required to design, develop, and manufacture such a custom-purpose mobile robotic platform may be lengthy and the cost high. Further, the specialized design of such a mobile robotic platform may severely limit (if not completely negate) its usefulness for other tasks, which increases the cost of ownership thereof.
In contrast, another approach is to integrate a conventional mechanically triggered weapon in combination with a multi-purpose mobile robotic platform that can be used for military and police applications. One potential concern in this approach is that a conventional mechanically triggered weapon includes a safety mechanism that ‘unsafes’ the weapon so that it can be remotely fired to achieve the mission objective, and correspondingly ‘safes’ the weapon when it not imminently expected to be fired (e.g., during mission maneuvering prior to and after ‘firing’ to achieve the mission objective). To overcome this deficiency, one could disable the safety mechanism so that the mechanically triggered weapon could be remotely fired at will at any time. This solution is not acceptable because it entails a significant risk that the mechanically triggered weapon would be inadvertently fired at an inopportune time due to mechanical shocks arising as a result of operating the mobile robotic platform. Another deficiency in this approach is that most (if not all) multi-purpose mobile robotic platforms designed for military and police applications include a built-in firing stage that outputs a signal to activate small detonation devices and such firing stages are not generally functional to provide an output while armed. Overcoming this deficiency may likely include the addition of an electrical circuit configured to disable the safety mechanism and actuate the weapon's trigger. Such a circuit may be cumbersome and inefficient as it requires complex integration of the weapon with the mobile robotic platform and firing the weapon requires the operator to perform additional actions. Further to this, the requirement that the operator perform addition actions may likely introduce latency into the system such that there is a noticeable time lag between the point in time when the operator initiated the firing routine and the point in time when the weapon discharges.
Therefore, a need exists to weaponize a mobile robotic platform with a mechanically triggered weapon using an unobtrusive, add-on electromechanical system that is compatible with one or more mechanically triggered weapons, in which the weapon can be fired in a safe, secure, quick, and controlled manner in response to a single electrical pulse.